1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital electronic cameras including still cameras and cameras capable of recording a series of images. The invention is further related to the input/output interface of the camera and more particularly the manner of transferring an input/output control program from the I/O interface to the camera.
2. Discussion of the Background
As the size and cost of electronic components goes down, the popularity of digital electronic cameras which operate without using photographic film increases. A problem with digital electronic cameras is that after a picture is taken, special steps must be performed in order to obtain a photographic print of the desired image or to transfer the electronic image to a suitable device for further processing and viewing.
One manner of transferring electronic images out of an electronic camera is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,459, issued to Roberts et al, which is incorporated herein by reference. This patent discloses the use of a disk drive assembly which is compatible with both Apple Macintosh computers as well as IBM compatible personal computers. The disk drive of this camera uses either the IBM or Apple format, depending upon the position of an operator selected switch.
Another manner of transferring images out of an electronic camera is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 4-980 (1992) which discloses the use of a plug-in communication interface card which allows images to be transferred out of the camera to a digital recording device. The interface allows the output images to be recorded digitally on a tape of a Digital Audio Tape player (DAT).
The present inventor has recognized a problem with these conventional devices in that they do not provide a means for easily allowing the camera to output images using new communication formats and protocols.